UPDATED: Marines in Egypt Denied Live Ammo?

Carol Platt Liebau

9/13/2012 1:08:09 PM - Carol Platt Liebau

In the Washington Free Beacon, Adam Kredo is citing reports that America's ambassador to Egypt, Anne Patterson, didn't permit the Marines guarding the Embassy to carry live ammunition. That means they had no way to protect the Embassy, its personnel, or -- not incidentally! -- themselves.

No US official has yet responded. But if this is true, it indicates a serious lapse of judgment (and an absence of basic common sense) within the administration.

In days to come, if the media does its job, I suspect we will learn many things that will be hard to understand regarding US security in Egypt and Libya . . . a little like peeling back the layers of an onion.

UPDATE:

The Pentagon has denied the reports on Marine blogs alleging that carrying live ammunition was prohibited.